Method of retaining creases in trousers



March 8, 1938. BOWMAN 2,110,644

METHOD OF RETAINING CREASES IN TROUSERS Filed 001 17, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fig.1

.1. 02 is 6; flowm an March 8, 1938. G. BOWMAN 2,10,644

METHOD OF RETAINING CREASES IN TROUSERS Filed 001:. 17, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 lunu nnnir llIllllllIIIlIIII/IIII/ Patented Mar. 8, 1938 PATENT OFFHCE METHOD OF RETAINING CREASES IN TROUSERS Louis G. Bowman, St.

Louis, Mo., assignor to Lewis Invisible Stitch Machine Company, St. Louis, Mo, a corporation of Maine Application October 1'7, 1936, Serial No. 106,222

4 Claims.

This invention relates to a new and useful method of retaining creases in garments, such as trousers, coats, or other tubular articles.

Among the several objects of my invention are to provide a method of stitching a tape to a non-creased trousers or body fabric, or to a pre-creased body fabric at points on opposite sides of the line of ridge or crease whereby the crease will be retained and the trousers will be prevented from bagging at the knees; and to provide such a method wherein the tape is applied during a single sewing operation. 7

With these and other objects in view which will more fully appear, the nature of the invention will be more clearly understood by following the description, the appended claims, and the several views illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a pair of trousers equipped with my invention,

Figure 2 is an enlarged plan looking at the inner face of the body fabric and showing the tape and the single line of blind stitches which connect the tape to the body fabric at points on opposite sides of the line of ridge or crease in the body fabric,

Figure 3 is an enlarged section taken on the line 3--3 of Figure land showing the ridge of notape projecting towards but spaced from the ridge or crease in the trousers,

Figure 4 is a smaller view but showing the ridge of tape, in contact with the ridge or crease of the trousers, as Figure 5 is a detail sectional view showing how my method can be carried out by a sewing machine, the view showing the parts in normal positions prior to the formation of stitches, the view also showing the application of the tape to the front section of a trousers leg subsequent tothe leg being side seamed, the ridge of tape being spaced from the ridge or crease in the trousers,

Figure 6 is a similar view butshowing the needle in position for uniting the tape to the body 45 fabric on opposite sides of the line of ridge or crease in the body fabric,

' Figure 7 is a view similar to Fig. 5 but showing the application of the tape to the front section of a trousers leg prior to the side seaming operation, H

Figure 8 isa similar view but showing the needle in position for uniting the tape to the body fabric on opposite sidesof the line of ridge or crease in the trousers,

. 5 I Figure ,9 is aviews1m1larto Figure 7 but showing the ridge of tape in contact with the ridge or crease in the body fabric,

Figure 10 is a similar view but showing the needle in position for uniting the tape to the body fabric on opposite sides of the line of ridge or crease in the body fabric, and

Figure 11 is a perspective View of the single line of lock stitches.

Like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several figures of the drawings.

An article constructed in accordance with my method is shown in Figures 1 to 4:. This article is shown as comprising a body fabric A, such as a pairof trousers which includes tubular or leg portions 5, 5, each leg including a front section a and a rear section b, the front section being provided with a centrally disposed and outwardly projecting longitudinal ridge or crease 6.

A pre-shrunken non-elastic tapeB of woven fabric is secured against the inner face of each leg portion by a single line C of lock stitches of the blind stitch type. This tape extends 1ongitudinally of the leg portion and is centrally disposed with respect to the line of ridge or crease 6, i. e., it extends equally on opposite sides thereof. By employing a tape of non-elastic woven fabric, which has been pre-shrunken, all danger of the tape shrinking and the trousers becoming unshapely when the trousers are subjected to water or to a wet cleaning process is thereby avoided.

A blind stitch sewing machine for carrying out the steps of this method is shown, described and claimed in my co-pending application Serial No. 106,221, filed Oct. 17, 1936, and the finished article is shown, described and claimed in my copending application Serial No. 106,223, filed Oct. 17, 1936.

The tape B may be applied to formed and previously creased trousers, by turning each leg inside out and feeding the same through the machine, or the tape may be applied to the front section of a trousers leg prior to the side seaming operation thereof, or the tape may be applied to a trousers leg which has not been creased, either prior to or subsequent to the side seaming operation. If the leg has not been creased, a chalk line is preferably formed on the inner face of the leg as a guide for the operator in directing the leg through the machine.

The single line C of blind stitches includes a needle thread I and a bobbin thread 8. The needle thread is formed into a plurality of equally spaced needle thread loops 9 which are connected by needle thread portions E5, the needle thread loops extending in a plane at right angles to the ridge or crease 6, as shown in Figure 2, and being anchored by the bobbin thread 8.

Although my method may be carried out by hand, I preferably'employ a blind stitch sewing machine as referred to above. In carrying out this method, I preferably first form the ridge or crease 6 in the front section a of each trousers leg or body fabric, and then position the body fabric in a flat plane with the ridge or crease 6 projecting downwardly or outwardly from said plane as shown in Figures 5, 7, and 9. If the trousers have been previously side seamed it is of course necessary to turn the legs inside out, and then feed both superposed sections a and 72 through the machine, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6. If the trousers have not been previously side seamed, then the section a only is fed through the machine, as shown in Figs. '7, 8, 9, and 10. If the ridge or crease 6 has not been previously formed, a chalk line is made along the inner face of each leg to serve as a guide.

In carrying out the steps in this method, I intermittently feed a superposed tape B and body fabric A through a blind stitch machine which includes a stationary presser foot 5! having an opening 12, a horizontally reciprocatory needle !3 located above the foot and having its path of movement across said opening, a vertically recipro-catory work clamp Id which cooperates with the underface of the foot to clamp the body fabric and the tape against the foot dur ing the penetrating stroke of the needle, a 4-1notion feed dog l5 for intermittently feeding the body fabric and the tape past the needle, and upper and lower vertically reciprocatory plungers l6 and il' respectively which are arranged in alinement and simultaneously move towards each other to clamp the body fabric and the tape therebetween and to retain the crimped fabric and tape while the needle is in the work, and then simultaneously move apart while the needle is out of the work and during the feeding of said work. The upper plunger or crown it which is provided with a trans verse groove lfia in its under face to receive the needle, is also provided with spaced and downwardly projecting work clamping ribs I8, 59 and with a centrally and downwardly projecting ridge forming rib 29, forming resultant grooves 2E, 22 therebetween. The lower plunger is provided with spaced and upwardly projecting ridge forming ribs 23, 24% forming a resultant groove 25 therebetween which receives the central rib 2f! of the upper plunger or crown, the ribs 23, at being received in the spaces or grooves 25, 22 of the upper plunger. The lower plunger is provided with horizontal clamping shoulders 26, 2? which cooperate with the clamping ribs 13, E9 of the upper plunger to clamp the side edges of the tape and the body fabric therebetween. The bottom of the foot carries a stationary finger 28 which has its rear free end projecting into the opening 12 of the foot.

If the tape 13 is to be applied to trousers A which have been side seamed and creased, as

'lustrated in Figs. 5 and 6, the trousers are first turned inside out. One leg of the trousers with the front section a above the bottom section 22, is intermittently fed through the machine together with the s perposed tape B which is positioned against the inner top face of the front section a and centrally with respect to the downwardly projecting ridge or crease 6 thereof. Each time the feed dog is idle and the needle is. out of the work, the upper plunger or crown I6 and the lower plunger I! move towards each other and clamp the crimped work therebetween. The ridge or crease 6 is positioned under the finger 28 and is held below and in spaced relation to the path of needle travel by said finger, the crease being located in the groove 25 of the lower plunger ll. The center rib 20 of the upper plunger or crown forms a centrally located and downwardly projecting ridge 29 in the tape B which is disposed in the ridge 6 of the body fabric, the apex 33 being located above the finger 28 and consequently in spaced relation to the apex 6a of the ridge or crease 6. The ribs 23, 24 of the lower plunger form upwardly projecting ridges 3!, 32 in the body fabric and superposed ridges 33, 34 in the tape, the ridges 3|, 33 and the ridges 32, 34 being respectively disposed in the grooves 2i, 22 of the upper plunger and in the path of needle travel.

The needle then projects a. needle thread loop 9 through the superposed ridges 3|, 33 of the body fabric and tape which are on. one side of the line of ridge or crease 6, and then through the superposed ridges 32, 34 of the body fabric and tape which are on the other side of said line of ridge or crease 6. The needle thread loop 9 is then anchored by the bobbin thread 8. The needle is then withdrawn from the work,, the plungers I6, I! are separated, the work clamp I4 is lowered, and the feed dog l5 then functions to feed the work a stitch length distance.

It will be observed that each needle thread loop 3 anchors the tape B to the body fabric A on opposite sides of the line of ridge or crease 6, and that said loop passes entirely through the central longitudinal ridge 29 of the tape. The tension of the needle thread loops is such as to maintain the ridge 29 of the tape in its projected relation towards the ridge or crease 6, and consequently the loops constitute braces or ties which function to retain the ridge or crease 6 in shape, while at the same time the non-elastic woven tape, which extends along the leg from a point well below the knee to a point well above the same, functions to retain the trousers leg from bagging at the knee.

It may be desirable to have the ridge 29 of the tape B project fully into the ridge or crease 6 of the body fabric, as shown in Fig. 4, and this is accomplished as shown in Figs. 9 and 10, by retracting the finger 28 to permit the center rib 20 of the upper plunger or crown to form both the downwardly projecting ridges 29 and 6 in the tape and body fabric.

From the foregoing, it will be observed that I first place the tape B on the body fabric A and form the outwardly projecting ridge 6 in the body fabric, and then secure the tape to the body fabric by passing a single line of connected needle thread loops through the tape and body fabric at points on opposite sides of the ridge and in spaced relation to the apex thereof.

It is of course to be understood that the details of structure and arrangement of parts may be variously changed and modified without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention.

I claim: 7

l. The method of retaining 'a ridge or crease in a body fabric consisting in first placing a tape on a body fabric and forming an outwardly projecting ridge in the body fabric, and then securing said tape to the body fabric by passing a single line of connected needle thread loops through (ill said tape and body fabric at points on opposite sides of the ridge and in spaced relation to the apex thereof.

2. The method of retaining a ridge or crease in a body fabric consisting in first placing a tape on a body fabric and forming an outwardly projecting ridge in the body fabric, then forming and projecting spaced ridges in the tape and body fabric in the opposite direction to and on opposite sides of the outwardly projecting ridge, and finally securing the tape to the body fabric by passing a single line of connected needle thread loops through the spaced ridges formed in the tape and body fabric.

3. The method of retaining creases in a body fabric consisting in first forming a ridge or crease in the body fabric, then positioning the body fabric in a fiat plane with the ridge or crease projecting outwardly, and finally joining a tape to the inner face of the fabric by a single line of stitches connecting the tape and the fabric on opposite sides of the crease.

4. The method of retaining creases in a body fabric consisting in first forming a ridge or crease in the body fabric, then positioning the body fabric in a flat plane with the ridge or crease projecting outwardly and directing a tape to the inner face of the fabric at the point of the ridge or crease, then projecting ridges of fabric and tape in a direction opposite the ridge or crease of the body fabric and on opposite sides of said ridge or crease and simultaneously forming a ridge in the tape and projecting the same into the ridge or crease of the body fabric, and finally joining the tape to the fabric by a single line of stitches including needle thread loops which pass through the ridges of the fabric and the tape and through the tape ridge in spaced relation to the apex of the ridge or crease in the body fabric.

LOUIS G. BOWMAN. 

